Annual Review of Vital Statistics

Birth rate is up, teen pregnancy rate is down, very preterm and very low birth weight rates continue to increase, and accidents and assaults remain the major causes of death in children.

What does a recent snapshot of infant and child health in the U.S. look like?

In 2006, the number of live births (4,265,996) increased by about 130,000 from 2005 and by about 200,000 from 2000.
Teen pregnancy rate has been declining since 1990 (by almost 34%, from 60 to 42 births/1000 women aged 15–19 years), but the rate increased slightly in 2006.
The cesarean delivery rate reached a record high of 31% in 2006, representing almost a 50% increase since 1996.
The twin birth rate has stabilized at 32 per 1000 total births since 2004 after an increase of 70% since 1980. The number of live births in twin deliveries has doubled since 1980.
The rate of triplet and higher multiple births continues to decline (from 177/100,000 in 2004 to 162/100,000 in…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)